Category: Sports

Saltdogs one-hit T-Bones in series finale

The Kansas City T-Bones had their bats silenced in the series finale Sunday, falling 8-2 to the Lincoln Saltdogs at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

After scoring six runs in Saturday’s win, the T-Bones were held hitless through six innings off starting pitcher Zachary Varce (1-0). With the no-hit bid intact, the Saltdogs called reliever T.J. Boseman out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh.

Left fielder Byron Wiley roped a leadoff single up the middle for Kansas City’s lone hit and was brought home by a bases loaded walk. The T-Bones were walked 14 times, three of which came in their one-run seventh inning. That set a new club record for walks in the game. The previous was 12 against Schaumburg in July 2004.

Bobby Shore (0-1) was roughed up in his T-Bones debut. He went four innings and gave up six runs, five of which were earned, off eight hits.

The Saltdogs got things going early, scoring three runs off four hits in the first inning. They scored in all but three innings of the game.

With the loss, the T-Bones wrap up the four game homestand with a 2-2 record before heading to Wichita for a three-game series beginning Monday night. They return home Thursday, May 22, against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks for another four-game home stand.

Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

– Story from T-Bones

Second-half comeback falls short as Sporting KC drops 2-1 decision to Chicago Fire

Sporting Kansas City’s frantic second-half comeback fell short as the defending MLS Cup champions lost to the Chicago Fire 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

Dom Dwyer’s second-half goal was not enough as Mike Magee’s two first-half penalty kick goals gave the home side three points.

Vermes entered Sunday’s match missing three players due to national-team duty (midfielder Graham Zusi and defenders Matt Besler and Lawrence Olum) and another four due to injury (defenders Aurelien Collin and Ike Opara and midfielders Oriol Rosell and Peterson Joseph).

Seventeen-year-old defender Erik Palmer-Brown made his professional debut on Sunday, becoming the youngest player to appear in an MLS match in club history. The Lees Summit native also became the youngest defender to start an MLS match, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, official statistician of Major League Soccer.

The home side got off to a hot start as Sporting KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg was whistled for a foul in the penalty box in the sixth minute.

Rookie midfielder Harrison Shipp split a pair of Sporting KC defenders, leaving forward Quincy Amarikwa one-on-one with Kronberg. The veteran goalkeeper clipped Amarikwa seven yards from goal and Mike Magee converted the penalty kick for Chicago.

The Fire doubled its  lead only minutes later as Palmer-Brown was given his first of two yellow cards on the day for a foul on Benji Joya at the edge of the penalty box. Referee Jose Carlos Rivera immediately pointed to the spot and Magee converted his second penalty kick of the afternoon.

Sporting Kansas City had an opportunity to cut the deficit before halftime as 19-year-old Brazilian defender Igor Juliao played a perfectly weighted ball over the Fire backline. Dwyer ran on to the pass and tapped it around an out-stretched Sean Johnson, but the ball hit off the far post and was cleared from danger.

The afternoon turned again in Chicago’s favor in the 64th minute when Palmer-Brown was issued a second yellow card for a foul on Amarikwa. The red card was Sporting KC’s third of the year after being issued only one red card in 2013.

Despite playing a man down, Sporting KC continued to press in the second half. The effort paid off in the 68th minute, when Dwyer headed home a Benny Feilhaber free kick to cut the deficit in half. The third-year striker has scored four goals in his last three games and his eight goals in 2014 are tied for second in MLS behind New York Red Bulls’ striker Bradley Wright-Phillips.

Sporting KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg made four saves in the match including a finger-tip save on second-half sub Dilly Duka less than a minute after Dwyer’s goal. Kronberg came up big again in the 76th minute, stopping Magee twice in one sequence. A Sean Johnson goalkick skipped through the Sporting KC backline and freed Magee for a one-on-one opportunity with Kronberg. The veteran goalkeeper tapped the ball away from the 2013 MLS MVP at the top of the penalty box and recovered quickly to get his body in front of Magee’s rebound attempt.

Sporting KC’s best opportunity at an equalizer came off a nifty passing sequence in the 79th minute. Juliao played a ball into Dwyer that the English striker one-timed out wide to Jacob Peterson. The veteran winger collected the ball and played it back across the six-yard box, but his cross rolled just out of the reach of a sliding Dwyer.

Sporting KC will now return home for two home games in four days, starting with Friday’s match against Toronto FC, presented by adidas. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.

– Story from Sporting KC

Dominating defense aids T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones used a strong defensive outing and timely hitting in Saturday night’s 6-2 win over the Lincoln Saltdogs at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

More than once the defense came up big, keeping the Saltdogs from clawing back in it, but one stood out in particular. The Saltdogs were threatening with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh, when T-Bones reliever Zach Fowler snagged a liner from Kevin Howard and tossed it over to third for the double play. Fowler then struck out the final batter and got out of the seventh-inning jam.

In spite of getting only six hits off Lincoln pitchers, the T-Bones cracked the scoreboard with two runs off only one hit. Right fielder Bryan Sabatella smoked a leadoff single through the left side and scored when left fielder T.J. Mittelstaedt reached on a fielder’s choice. Third baseman Nick Giarraputo was hit by a pitch and scored the second run of the inning on a ground out.

Kansas City tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a pair of singles from Sabatella and Robby Kuzdale, and took a 4-1 lead over the Saltdogs. Sabatella and Kuzdale were the only T-Bones players with more than one hit. They had two apiece. Kuzdale scored Kansas City’s first earned run of the game in the seventh, on a base hit to center by Danny Richar.

Pat Doyle (1-0) struck out two, gave up two runs and nine hits, in five innings.

With the win, the T-Bones now have their first winning record of the year at 2-1. They finish a four-game homestand against Lincoln on Sunday night at 5:05. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.